"The Liberal Party, in its different guises, has seen many false dawns in its quest for an equal footing with Labour and the Tories." "Eric Lubbock's victory in the 1962 Orpington by-election was fresh in the memory when Jo Grimond famously deployed his military metaphor. In the 1970s five by-election victories in rapid succession set Jeremy Thorpe dreaming of a landslide. Then in the early 1980s the alliance with the SDP made that elusive breakthrough so achievable that David Steel sent the conference into raptures with his famous exhortation. But for all the rhetoric, the big breakthrough was never achieved." "Now, with the Liberal Democrats performing well in the May 2003 local elections and enjoying consistently strong poll ratings, and with senior Tories warning of the dangers of being overtaken by the hitherto 'third party', yet another Liberal dawn seems to be breaking."--BOOK JACKET.